Austin Guido ran all over his former teammates in perhaps the most exciting game in the history of the Waubonsie Valley-Neuqua Valley rivalry.

Guido rushed for 251 yards in the double-overtime thriller on Oct. 5, but his enduring memory is the couple of steps he took in the wrong direction.

"I messed up," Guido said. "I went the wrong way. I've thought about that game every day since."

The play that has haunted Guido came after Waubonsie scored a touchdown on the second possession of double overtime to cut Neuqua's lead to 35-34.

With his captains urging him to go for the win, Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy opted for a make-or-break two-point conversion attempt.

The call might have been perfect, but the 8,000 screaming fans at North Central College never found out because Guido collided with quarterback Dylan Warden before the play had a chance to develop.

It's moot now that No. 13 Waubonsie Valley (10-1) has earned a rematch with the No. 8 Wildcats (11-0) in a Class 8A quarterfinal Saturday night at Neuqua in Naperville.

Waubonsie hasn't reached the quarterfinals since 1994, while 15-year-old Neuqua never had before this season.

"It is awesome that we have another chance to play them," Guido said. "Since that game, coach has been telling us that if we keep playing well we will see them again. Now it is here. I couldn't be more excited."

The other six 8A quarterfinalists might have Metea Valley to thank for their chances of winning a state championship.

Many of the Neuqua and Waubonsie players played together on a dominant youth team, and most of the Warriors' top players would have gone to Neuqua before the opening of Metea in 2009 re-directed some Naperville kids to Waubonsie.

"There was definitely a sense when we were younger that we can do some damage in high school," Neuqua Valley running back Joey Rhattigan said. "We even say it now: 'If we were combined, where would we be?'"

Competition between the schools is fierce but respectful. The combatants have remained close friends.

A couple of days after his career-high 344 yards rushing and five touchdowns in Neuqua Valley's 44-33 victory over defending 8A champion Bolingbrook on Friday night, Rhattigan decided to send Guido a text message offering congratulations and good luck.

Guido, who works out with his Neuqua counterpart in the offseason, beat him to the punch.

"I see those guys around on the weekend," Guido said. "They are a respectful team. They don't brag and talk about how they won.

"I haven't seen any trash talking from them this week. I've seen a little on Twitter, but it is just the fans."

It's not hard to imagine Guido and Rhattigan sharing the ball without complaint as teammates, but there's little chance they would have combined for 4,200 yards and 62 touchdowns this season.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Guido is up to 2,236 yards and 30 touchdowns after going for 232 and two in Waubonsie's 28-7 second-round victory over Oak Park.

The 6-foot, 205-pound Rhattigan compiled 572 yards and nine touchdowns in Neuqua's two playoff wins and has 1,968 and 32 this season.

The only close game either team played in the regular season was against the other.

Waubonsie led 14-7 at halftime and 21-14 late in the fourth quarter before Neuqua quarterback Dylan Andrew connected with Ryan Kuhl on a 21-yard, fourth-down touchdown pass with 1 minute, 36 seconds left in regulation.

Both teams scored touchdowns on their two overtime possessions, but Waubonsie opted against a third OT.

"Coach asked the captains, and we all agreed to go for two," Guido said. "I personally would want to go for it again even though we didn't get it."